THE WISDOM OF C.S. LEWIS

Friday, March 30, 2012

"Indeed the
safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot,
without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,… Your
affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” C.S.
Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Habits are
extremely important. They are also
frustrating. Experts say that it
generally takes between two and three months to establish a habit; it takes
only two consecutive days to begin to break the habit. The devil understands this well. Thus his
strategy is to gently nudge us in the wrong direction. He knows that if we truly saw where we were
headed, we would immediately turn away.
So, he just softly leads us in the wrong direction, knowing that
momentum is a difficult thing to change.

He constantly
feeds us the line, “this one time will not matter.” He encourages us to think, “This one day won’t
matter”, or “I will start tomorrow.”
Soon one time becomes two, two becomes three, and before we know it, the
habit is established. One day becomes
two, and before we know it, a week has passed. Once that week has passed, it is
so difficult to shift the momentum back in the right direction.

Aristotle said
it this way, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit." Developing good
habits and being vigilant about maintaining those habits will lead to a life of
excellence.

Some reading
this have a bad habit they have been trying to break for a long time. While good habits take a seemingly long time
to develop, bad habits are annoyingly stubborn.
Remember too, however, experts say that two consecutive days of not
doing something and the habit begins to weaken.
The old adage is, “one day at a time.” I say to you, not one day, but
two. Don’t do whatever it is for two
days straight. You will notice that the bad habit has less power over you – not
that it is completely gone, but it is weakening. Then repurpose yourself to another two days.
Before long, the habit will be broken.

Try also to
begin to develop good habits. You know
what they are. Set your sight on just
two consecutive days, the set the goal of two more days. Before long, you will have established a good
habit. And, give yourself grace if you fail.
Do not ever believe you cannot do it.
Just take the next right step… and then take one more.

Finally, you do
not have to do it alone. In fact, often
we cannot do it alone, as hard as we try. His grace is made perfect in weakness
(2 Corinthians 12:9). He will help you
and give you strength. And other people
can be a big help in keeping you accountable and encouraging you. Do not be afraid to ask for help.

The devil will
gradually try and shift you in the wrong direction. That is why this very day
matters. Take a stand and do what is
right. Change directions and shift the momentum. James put it this way, “Stand
firm against the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

This is an unfortunate truth. The human heart is full of
rebellion and amnesia. As a result, the
only way we can learn certain things is to experience low points in life. I
know that has been true in my life.

When we are experiencing low points in life, we are tempted,
whether consciously or not, to begin to doubt the goodness of God. God does not protect us from hard times. In
fact, sometimes I think God might do even more than allow hard times in our
lives. Is it herarcy to say that God
actually causes hard times in our
lives? I don’t think so…because we need
them. No, God does not protect us from
hard times. Rather, He protects us during
hard times.

I once had a basketball coach who was much harder on me than
anyone else. He would constantly ride
me, tell me what I was doing wrong, even
if it was just a small thing. It felt so
unfair because he chastised me so much more than anyone else. I finally could not take it anymore and let
him know in no uncertain terms that I did not appreciate this special
attention. After practice, he pulled me aside and asked me, “Do you know why I
am constantly on you?” Before I could
respond, he said, “It is because I know how good you can be.”

God wants the best for us. God knows "how good we can be." As a result, He pays us special attention. Unfortunately, because of the condition
of our hearts, the only way we will learn certain important lessons is to go
through difficult things. Rather than
viewing it as God’s chastisement or feeling like God has forgotten us, let’s acknowledge
that the difficult times actually show us how much He loves us.

He has not forgotten you. He is molding you and preparing
you. As difficult as it is, we must
always keep in mind that He allows things in our lives to better us, not to
harm us.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some
distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those
who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still
unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”
C.S. Lewis, "Learning
in War-Time",The Weight of Glory

There
is always something more “fun” to do than to “learn”. There is always something that is seeking our
attention, making it difficult to want to sit down and study. It may be a television show, or the “to-do”
list, or a phone call, or…. Those who have learned a great deal, have forced
themselves to set aside time to study.

I
realized, however, that the above quote can also be applied to choosing
contentment and joy. We make the mistake of believing that
those who seem to always be content must have everything together in life. Nothing is further from the truth. The truth
is that people who are content or joyful are in that state because they have
looked beyond the things that would make them discontent. Everyone has painful or hurtful things present in their
lives. The true art of living is being able to see grace in every situation,
being able to choose joy despite pain, and to choose contentment even when our
sleeves are being pulled on by situations that want to drag us to be discontent.

Paul says as much in Philippians when he writes,

“[F]or I
have learned
to be content whatever the circumstances.12I know what it is to be in need, and
I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content
in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in
plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:11-12).

Paul
learned to be content, learned to be content in every situation. It can be learned; it is not easy, nor is it
a matter of simply snapping your fingers. But it can be learned.

We
will always have an excuse to not be content. As C.S. Lewis said of learning,
so contentment and joy can be found in every situation to those who want it so
badly that they seek it while conditions are still unfavorable. This is not some fairy dust, pie-in-the-sky
fantasy. It takes tremendous courage, self-discipline, and strength to be able
to choose contentment and joy even when there are hard things in life. This is, however, the abundant life that
Christ has for us – the ability to be content and joyful always.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Why is it so hard to live in the present all the time? Hurts from the past haunt us; concern about the future frightens us. If we let him, we serve a God who will heal our hurts. And of what use is it for us to be concerned about the future? We can control so little of it. Stop struggling with your past; stop fretting about the future. Your God will heal your wounds, and He controls your future. The only way to truly feel peace and joy is to live fully in the present.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

“A silly
idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an
obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A
man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it
would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know
very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving
in.” C. S. Lewis

Jane is
a 31 year old woman. She is a Christian;
she is pretty. She has never been
married. She is still a virgin. She meets a terrific guy. He is handsome,
funny, and clearly is interested in her.
He makes it clear that he wants to have sex with her.

To say
she is tempted is an understatement. She
wonders why she is saving herself. No
one else saves themselves for marriage anymore. She is trying to maintain hope
that she will be married someday, to a Christian guy who will treat her
decently. Problem is she has not found a decent Christian guy in a long time…

She is
very, very tempted to give in to her new suitor.

Sometimes,
it takes immense strength to resist. For
some, it is something large like keeping your virginity, or not having another
drink. For others it is the M&Ms that would easily fit in your pocket. People who struggle understand the badness in
the world. And temptations have an
amazing way of building. You can refuse something
the first time, but it stays there begging for you to give in. It builds and builds, to the point where it takes immense strength to resist. Yes, as C.S. Lewis says,
people who fight temptation are immensely strong and courageous.

We are
tempted by our own evil desires (James 1:13-14). Temptations are wonderfully purifying. They show us where we are bad, where we are
vulnerable. Being tempted is not a sin;
it is only sin when we give in to temptations.
Yet, temptations are vital show the condition of our heart.

How to fight
temptation? Understand two things:

(1). Temptations
are simply a shadow of true goodness. We
subconsciously (or consciously) think that giving in to the temptation will
bring us happiness. And giving in to
temptation might actually provide temporary satisfaction. Yet, giving in to
temptation is a poor substation for genuine, lasting happiness. Also, giving in
to temptation will always eventuate in something bad.

(2). We serve a God who is intimately familiar
with every facing temptation. Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted as we are…in
every way. (Hebrews 4:15). He says that
He will help us with our burdens, help us fight temptation. That is not a idle
promise. It is a comfort to know that
Jesus knows how hard it is to fight temptation. Yet, we must also know that He
will help us fight temptation, that is, He will help show us the way.

Do not
ever think that there is something wrong with you, if you are tempted by
something. Examine what is tempting you,
and allow it to reveal what is in your heart.
Count on God to give you the strength and the courage to overcome
temptation.

Jane is
a courageous and strong woman. She told her suitor that she was not that type
of girl. Whatever your demon, take
courage from her story, and take comfort from the promise of help from
Christ. Be courageous. Be strong.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

“Remember that He is the artist and you are only the
picture. You can’t see it. So quietly
submit to be painted –i.e., keep fulfilling all the obvious duties of your
station (you really know quite well enough what they are!), asking forgiveness
for each failure and then leaving it alone.
You are in the right way. Walk—don’t
keep looking at it.” C.S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 3

This quote reminds me of several other quotes. It reminds me of the verse in Isaiah where it
says,

“But now, O LORD, You are our Father,

We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the work of Your hand.”

It reminds me of another C.S. Lewis when he says in essence,
it is not our duty to succeed. Finally,
it reminds the saying, “Just do the next right thing.”

Perhaps you are like me, however. I tend to forget this idea. I “work” hard to
grow. And the harder I work, the more I expect results. But that is not our job. Our only job is to keep showing up. We are simply along for the ride. We will grow, if we keep showing up. We will grow at the right rate, at the right
time, for the right purpose.

Paradoxically, the Christian life is such that the harder we
try to grow, the harder we “work”, the longer it takes. Yes, we need to show
up. But our job is simply to be malleable,
amenable to when and how He works in our lives.
We will grow at different paces. There will be times of tremendous growth
and long stretches of dryness. And our lives will rarely develop the way we hope
or plan. We save ourselves so much angst
if we simply remember this and alter our expectations.

Hold on to the following truth:

[T]hat He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of
Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6.

He is painting a beautiful picture in your life…as long as
you let Him. Rest comfortably in that
truth. Stop striving or fighting it.
Trust it instead.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to
our as the life of a gnat. But it is
immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors
or everlasting splendors. This does not
mean that we are to be perpetually solemn.
We must play. But our merriment
must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists
between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy,
no superiority, no presumption." C.S. Lewis.

Let's face it. Even though Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas can also be a time when people drive us crazy. Perhaps it is the brother who refuses to be much of a brother to you. Perhaps it is an awkward (or worse) relationship with a parent. Maybe it is the obnoxious Uncle.

The quote above reminds us, however, that there are no ordinary people, that each person is an immortal child of God. You will be having Christmas dinner with immortals. It will be an immortal who gave you that...gift. It is an immortal who will be sitting next to you in church.

It is not always easy to see that. My prayer is that you are able to remember that this season, when you ready to wring someone's neck. May your celebrations this year be merry celebrations, without flippancy, superiority, or presumption.